Scientists Fear Sex Robots Could Be Bad For Society

We’ve joked about robots being the future of sex, but for these two researchers, it’s no laughing matter.

Kathleen Richardson and Erik Billing on Tuesday launched the Campaign Against Sex Robots, an effort to draw attention to what they see as the potential societal harm of human-like robots created for the purpose of having sex with humans. While these products are not yet widely available, they “seem to be a growing focus in the robotics industry,” Richardson, an ethics of robotics research fellow at England’s De Montfort University, told the BBC.

Billing, a lecturer at the University of Skovde in Sweden, told The Huffington Post in an email that he and Richardson “did not launch this campaign to protect the rights of the robots.” Instead, he explained, they are concerned that using sex robots could foster unhealthy attitudes towards sex and gender relations.

“The danger of sex robots lies in what we read into them, how we form fantasies that, in some respects, become a reality — a reality where the human (male) user is expected to turn on his woman robot companion for his own, lone, pleasure,” Billing said. “I think most of us would agree that this is very far from a healthy, mutual, sexual relationship.”

The campaign’s website features a position paper by Richardson comparing the relationship between a person and a sex robot to that between a client and a human sex worker. Richardson argues that the proliferation of sex robots would strengthen the attitudes of objectification and exploitation that she says are prevalent in the commercial sex trade. 

Even though the campaigners argue that there are strong parallels between robot sex and commercial human sex, they reject previous arguments that robots might simply replace human sex workers. Rather, Billing and Richardson say such technology would just “reinforce” the sex trade, “creating more demand for human bodies.”

But how similar is sex with robots to commercial sex with humans? Robots are literal objects, while sex workers are human beings with thoughts, feelings and agency. And while Richardson and Billing maintain that a person who pays for sex views the seller as a “thing” — like a robot — other research suggests the phenomenon is more complex.

“Men buy sex because they want more sex, different types of sex, different types of women (and men), because of opportunity, loneliness, lack of a relationship,” sociologist Teela Sanders wrote in 2007. “Yet the sex industry is not always a place of fleeting, emotionless sexual liaisons … men who regularly visit the same sex workers speak of their relationships in terms of intimacy and companionship.”

And whatever the implications for the commercial sex trade, some argue that the Campaign Against Sex Robots could stifle valuable research. The campaign’s site states that one of its goals is “to encourage computer scientists and roboticists to refuse to contribute to the development of sex robots as a field by refusing to provide code, hardware or ideas.” 

Computer researcher Kate Devlin calls that goal “shortsighted.”

“Instead of calling for an outright ban, why not use the topic as a base from which to explore new ideas of inclusivity, legality and social change?” Delvin asked Tuesday. “Fear of a branch of [artificial intelligence] that is in its infancy is a reason to shape it — not to ban it. Yes, there is a place for ethics in robotics. And, like sex between humans, talking about it can make it better.”

But Billing defended himself against that criticism, saying fostering a dialogue is exactly what he and Richardson intend to do.

“We are not against research on sex robots,” he said. “However, we are strongly against the development of sex robots without a consideration of the ethical and social consequences of such machines.”

Contact the author of this article at [email protected] 

Also on HuffPost:

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Stonewall star Jeremy Irvine opens up about his first gay sex scene

When it comes to gay sex scenes on film, Jeremy Irvine was a virgin.

But in the upcoming film Stonewall, the historical drama about the 1969 Stonewall Riots, the British actor’s character becomes romantically and passionately involved with a gay activist played by Jonathan Rhys Myers.

‘It was my first gay sex scene in a film, and hey, to be honest, if you’re gonna do it, Jonathan Rhys Myers is not a bad choice,’ Irvine tells PrideSource.

The 25-year-old actor had done only one other sex scene on film before and it was with a female.

‘I’m pretty green to all that,’ he says. ‘And Jonathan obviously did The Tudors, and so he said, “Just relax. I used to do, like, 10 of these a day.” So he was very cool. He took my hand. Took me through it.’

Director Roland Emmerich adds: ‘Jonathan totally took charge’ and says of Irvine: ‘Oh my God was he nervous.’

Irvine has been getting a lot of other attention for his role and it hasn’t been about the sex scenes.

After the first trailer for the film was unveiled last month, Emmerich was accused of ‘whitewashing’ and revolving the movie around the fictional white, cisgender male protagonist played by Irvine.

Subsequent trailers and featurettes (see below) have focused on other characters in the film to help quell the outcry.

Stonewall hits theaters in the US on 25 September.

The post Stonewall star Jeremy Irvine opens up about his first gay sex scene appeared first on Gay Star News.

Greg Hernandez

www.gaystarnews.com/article/stonewall-star-jeremy-irvine-opens-up-about-his-first-gay-sex-scene/

HRC Joins NAACP on National Mall in Support of Equal Rights and #JusticeSummer

Today, HRC joined the NAACP on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for the conclusion of NAACP’s “America’s Journey for Justice.”
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/hrc-joins-naacp-on-national-mall-in-support-of-equal-rights-and-justicesumm?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Teenager Suspended From High School For Wearing “Nobody Knows I’m a Lesbian” T-Shirt

Brianna Popour, a gay student at Chesnee High School in South Carolina, has been suspended after refusing to remove her “Nobody Knows I’m a Lesbian” T-shirt, reports WCBD 2 News.

Popour claims she wore it to encourage other students to come to terms with their sexuality, but was told to either change her outfit or go home.

When she pointed out that there was nothing in the school’s dress code that suggested there was anything wrong with the shirt, she was told by an administrator that “not everything is in the handbook” and that the the shirt was “disruptive.” Then she was suspended.

Brianna’s mother Barbara Popour says the move was discriminatory and is fighting back against the school.

“Isn’t that what school is supposed to teach you?” Brianna asked. “To be happy with who you are? Maybe people will be more comfortable showing who they are, because you should be able to wear what you want to wear.”

Ellen Kahn, director of the Children, Youth and Family Program at Human Rights Campaign Foundation, is strongly against the school’s decision and thinks it could be damaging to other gay students.

“It’s quite an extreme measure,” she told Dailymail.com. “I think the majority of school administrators and national organizations would tend to agree that it’s an extreme punitive reaction.”

H/t: LGBTQNation

Jeremy Kinser

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Humpback Whale Breaching on Top of Kayakers is Your OMG Video of the Day: WATCH

Check out this incredibly close call captured from a whale-watching boat in Moss Landing, California.

“We were taken under the water by the whale, perhaps in the down-draft,” kayaker Tom said in an interview with Inside Edition. “I think it brushed against me while I was out of the kayak… Neither of us know how we weren’t ended there and then.”

Captain Michael Sack of Sanctuary Cruises witnessed the incident and later wrote on his website:

Kayaking with whales can be extremely dangerous. It can turn into a life or death situation real quick-like. Within seconds. It was very scary to watch.

Today a couple of kayakers were very lucky. They came very close to getting crushed to death by the mighty humpback whale. A full-size humpback can weigh in at 40-tons. That’s a lot of heavy blubber that would surely flatten a kayaker if the whale had a direct hit.

Check out the footage below:

The post Humpback Whale Breaching on Top of Kayakers is Your OMG Video of the Day: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Humpback Whale Breaching on Top of Kayakers is Your OMG Video of the Day: WATCH

New 'Stonewall' Featurette Spotlights Gender-Fluid Character Ray/Ramona

The latest glimpse at director Roland Emmerich’s upcoming Stonewall spotlights actor Jonny Beauchamp and the Puerto Rican gender-fluid character he brings to life in the film, Ray/Ramona.

“Stonewall, it’s really about how the youth started this revolution. Not that many people know about it,” Beauchamp says in the featurette. “To me, it’s a really interesting moment of American history — a ferocity. It’s defiance. It’s gay power. And these kids just had enough. It’s not one specific person. It was a collective. It was a group.”

Beauchamp says his character is a composite of real-life Stonewall veterans Raymond Castro, who was one of the first people arrested during the 1969 riots, and Sylvia Rivera, the trans icon who was a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front, the Gay Activists Alliance, and the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, the latter of which she cofounded with her close friend Marsha P.  Johnson.

“One thing I love about Ray is that Ray is a dreamer,” Beauchamp says. “And if he’s anything like Sylvia Rivera, we know he goes on to really kind of give back to the community because he’s got so much love and he’s got hope.”

Following the release of Stonewall’s first trailer, the film came under heavy fire with accusations that it diminished the contributions of trans activists and people of color in the 1969 uprising by depicting the story through the eyes of a fictional white young man named Danny (Jeremy Irvine), who goes on to throw the first brick that incites the riots.

Emmerich defended his film in a lengthy Facebook post, saying, “When this film — which is truly a labor of love for me — finally comes to theaters, audiences will see that it deeply honors the real-life activists who were there — including Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Ray Castro — and all the brave people who sparked the civil rights movement which continues to this day.”

Watch the featurette below. Stonewall comes to theaters September 25.

www.advocate.com/film/2015/9/15/new-stonewall-featurette-spotlights-gender-fluid-character-rayramona

Here's What Happens When Real People Recreate Iconic Fashion Ads

Most people don’t see themselves in the models staring back at them from magazine pages or TV. In fashion ads especially, people of varying shape, size and color are notably absent.

Buzzfeed recreated five fashion ads using real people to showcase individuals with different body types and genders. In the five original ads — from Victoria’s Secret, Calvin Klein, Abercrombie & Fitch, Guess and Chanel — only one person of color is included, while the rest of the models are white.

The people who participated in the new ads said they enjoyed their experiences, though at times felt uncomfortable.

“It’s interesting being basically naked with people walking around, but it’s kind of empowering as time goes on, because it’s just a body,” said a participant named Daysha, who was recreating a Victoria’s Secret ad.

“I now feel so much more confident in my skin, and this experience has really allowed me to embrace my skin color,” said Michelle, who recreated a Guess ad. Michelle said her father is Indian and her mom is caucasian. 

French stylish Nathalie Croquet also recreated iconic fashion looks earlier this year. Working with a team, Croquet created “Spoof,” a photo series of eleven ads that showed her mimicking iconic poses and models, including Gisele Bündchen and Kate Moss, with her own wrinkles and imperfections on display. 

As model Ashley Graham, who stars in a Lane Bryant campaign celebrating diversity, recently said to the Huffington Post: “Everyone deserves to see themselves being represented equally.”

Also on HuffPost: 

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Poll: 63% say Kim Davis should be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Kentucky

Regardless of her religious objections, a majority of Americans believe Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis should be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Davis spent several days in a Kentucky jail for defying a federal judge’s order that she allow licenses to be issued. After returning to work this week, Davis allowed her deputies to issue licenses but had her name removed from them.

Of the random 1,003 adults surveyed nationwide in a Washington Post-ABC News poll,  63% believe she should be required, 33% said she should not be and 4% had no opinion.

Nearly half of those polled – 45% – supported the decision by a federal judge that Davis be sent to jail for defying his order.

Respondents were also asked which do they think is most important when it comes to a conflict between someone’s religious beliefs and everyone being treated equally under the law.

Of the Democrats polled, 80% said people should be treated equally under law and 75% of the Independents agreed. Of the Republicans polled, 66% put equal treatment over religious beliefs.

Davis gets her strongest support from White evangelical Protestants. In addition, 38% of  the Republicans who are supportive of Davis favor Donald Trump in the Republican Party presidential primaries.

The post Poll: 63% say Kim Davis should be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Kentucky appeared first on Gay Star News.

Greg Hernandez

www.gaystarnews.com/article/poll-63-say-kim-davis-should-be-required-to-issue-marriage-licenses-to-same-sex-couples-in-kentucky/

Five Takeaways from the 2015 U.S. Conference on AIDS

HRC was proud to be a sponsor of this year’s event and to bring attention to some of the unique challenges facing the LGBT community.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/five-takeaways-from-the-2015-u.s.-conference-on-aids?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Princeton Freshman Overcomes Football Slump With Two Simple Words: “I’m Gay”

Mason Darrow was a mess at practice. The Princeton University freshman football player felt slow on his feet, unable to get his head fully in the game.

And he knew why. Maintaining a life in the closet is isolating enough as it is without feeling the added hypermasculine pressure of being an offensive lineman for a Division I football team.

Luckily one of his teammates noticed Mason seemed to be drifting off to a distant, and by the looks of it, unpleasant, planet.

They made a plan to talk that night, and after an an evening spent agonizing over what to do (bailing on the conversation altogether was an attractive prospect), Mason knocked on the other player’s door.

The teammate broke the tension with a joke about Mason’s worries being of the girl variety.

“If this is a girl issue,” he said, “I’m going to be pissed.”

“Actually, it’s kind of the opposite,” Mason told him. “I’m gay.”

The teammate responded positively, and Mason experienced that boundless elation that comes with cracking open the closet door. The darkness was suddenly broken by one narrow beam of light, and he knew the only thing to do was continue to welcome more in.

Mason told Outsports he’d struggled with aligning his sexual orientation with how he interpreted “gay culture,” but at that moment and in the coming weeks as he came out to the rest of his team, it suddenly didn’t matter.

He was finally content just being true, which results in much fewer distractions when you’re trying to tackle a 300 pound opponent.

“Telling my teammates was the best decision I have ever made.”

Watch more of Mason’s story below:

Dan Tracer

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